Hungary’s Automotive Industry Rose By 23% In 2014

Tamás Székely 2015.03.11.

Production value of Hungary’s automotive industry rose by 23% to 6,651.5 billion forints last year, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said. The sector’s exports were up 21% and headcount rose by 15% in 2014, Szijjártó said at an automotive industry conference organised by the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA). About 93% of the industry’s output is exported, and almost half of exports go to Germany, he said. HIPA chairman Róbert Ésik said that HIPA is in talks on 21 automotive industry investments that could create 3,600 jobs in Hungary.

Meanwhile Japan’s NHK Spring has decided to build an 11,000 sqm automobile suspension plant in Hungary, Japanese news portals said, citing an announcement by the company. In the release, the company said production is expected to start in December 2015. Capacity is set to reach 3.5 million coil springs and 1.2 million stabilisers by 2020. The details of the investment were negotiated by state secretary Levente Magyar in Tokyo on March 3, the press department of the Foreign Ministry said. Earlier, Magyar said a Japanese company, which he did not name, would invest more than 15 billion forints in Hungary, creating 200 jobs. The factory is to be established in Komárom-Esztergom County (North Hungary), which is also the home of the local unit of Japanese carmaker Suzuki. The plant will be a unit of NHK Spring’s Dutch subsidiary.

German carmaker Audi also plans to add new products at its manufacturing base in Győr (NW Hungary), Audi Hungaria Motor managing director Thomas Faustmann said. The unit turned out about 2 million engines in Győr last year, a new record, Faustmann said. Audi has invested 7.433 billion euros in Hungary, including 698 million euros last year. Output of Audi Hungaria’s new car plant in Győr rose to 135,232 last year from 42,851 in 2013. The base produced 235 varieties of engines, from four to 12 cylinders.